Profiled spacers for insulation glazing assembly

ABSTRACT

A spacer profile for a spacer frame to be mounted in an insulating window unit by forming a space between the panes, with a chamber for receiving hygroscopic materials and with at least one contact web to lie against the inner side of a pane, which is connected via a bridge section with the chamber, is characterized i that the profile corpus of the spacer profile consists of an elastically-plastically deformable material with poor heat conductivity, and that at least the contact webs are permanently materially connected with a plastically deformable reinforcement layer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage of PCT/DE98/02470 filed Aug. 18,1998 and based upon German national applications 197 42 531.3 of Sep.25, 1997 and 198 05 265.0 of Feb. 10, 1998 under the InternationalConvention

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a spacer profile for a spacer frame tobe mounted in the marginal area of an insulating window unit, by formingan intermediate space between the panes, with a chamber for receivinghygroscopic materials and with at least one contact web resting on apane inside on at least one side of the chamber, which is connected withthe chamber via a bridge section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the sense of the invention, the panes of the insulating window unitare normally glass panes of inorganic or organic glass, without limitingthe invention. The panes can be coated or finished in any other way, inorder to impart to the insulating window unit special functions, such asincreased heat insulating or sound insulating capabilities.

The most important tasks of spacer frames are to space apart the panesof an insulating window units, to insure the mechanical strength of theunit and to protect the space between the panes from externalinfluences. Primarily in insulating window units with high heatinsulation, special attention has to be paid to the heat transmissioncharacteristics of the peripheral connection, including the spacer frameand the spacer profiles or frame limbs constituting the same. It hasbeen frequently proven that use of the conventional metallic spacersresulted in a reduction of the heat insulating properties of aninsulating window unit. The reduced heat insulation effect appearsclearly in the area of the peripheral connection, in the formation ofcondensation water at the margin of the inner pane at low externaltemperatures. There are general attempts to eliminate such formation ofcondensation water even at low external temperatures by keeping thetemperature in the area of the peripheral connection at the inner paneas high as possible. Developments in this direction are known under theterm of “warm edge” techniques.

In addition to metallic spacer profiles, for quite a long time spacerprofiles of plastic materials have been used, thus taking advantage ofthe low heat conductivity of these materials. However plastic spacerprofiles have the disadvantage that they can be bent only withconsiderable effort or not at all for the production of spacer framesmade in one piece. Therefore plastic profiles are cut into straight barsto the size of the respective insulating window unit and interconnectedto form a spacer frame by means of several corner brackets. Compared tometal, as a rule such plastic materials also have a low diffusiontightness. Therefore in the case of plastic spacers special measureshave to be taken insuring that air humidity existing in the surroundingsdoes not penetrate the intermediate space between the panes to theextent that it depletes the absorption capability of the drying agentsnormally provided in the spacer profiles, impairing the function of theinsulating window unit.

Furthermore a spacer profile has also to prevent the filling gases inthe intermediate pane space, such as argon, krypton, xenon, sulfurhexafluoride from escaping. Conversely, nitrogen, oxygen etc. containedin the outer atmosphere should not penetrate the intermediate panespace. Diffusion tightness it applies to vapor diffusion tightness, aswell as to gas diffusion tightness for the mentioned gases.

In order to improve the vapor diffusion tightness, DE 33 02 659 A1proposes to provide a plastic spacer profile with a vapor barrier, byapplying a thin metal foil or a metalized plastic foil to the plasticprofile on its surface which in assembled state faces away from thespace between the panes. This metal foil has to span across theintermediate pane space as completely as possible, insuring the desiredvapor barrier effect. The disadvantage here is that the metal foilcreates a path of high heat conductivity from one pane of the insulatingwidow unit to the other. This considerably reduces the effect intendedby using a plastic material for the profiles, namely the reduction ofheat conductivity of the peripheral connection.

Other spacer profiles, for instance the ones which meet theaforementioned “warm-edge” conditions, use special stainless steels,which in comparison to other metals have a lower heat conductivity, forprofile materials. Examples are mentioned in “Glaswelt” 6/1995, pages152-155. The spacer frames made thereof consist of one piece and areclosed at all corners.

A spacer profile of the kind mentioned at the outset is known from DE 7831 818 U1. The contact webs, there named flanks, to be connected via asealing adhesive with the panes of the insulating window unit, form theforce application points for a specially designed tool fixing thecontact webs during bending. The spacer profile is made in one piece ofthe same material, presumably a metal, which can be bent at right anglesobviously only by means of the indicated procedure. Indications as toheat insulation or even measures for improving the heat insulation cannot be found in the publication.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to provide a spacer profilewhich can be produced on a large scale and at low cost, with high heatinsulating characteristics, whereby from such a spacer profile it shouldbe possible to make a one-piece spacer frame, so that when cold or onlyslightly warmed, the profile will be bendable in such a manner as toavoid deformation. The spacer profile should also be advantageously in aposition to permit to a limited extent relative motions of the glasspanes as a result of inner pressure or shearing strain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This object is achieved with a spacer profile in which the profilecorpus of the spacer profile is formed by an elastically-plasticallydeformable material with low heat conductivity and at least the contactweb is firmly materially connected with a deformable reinforcementlayer.

The profile corpus comprises volumwise the main part of the spacerprofile and imparts to the same its cross section profile. It comprisesespecially the chamber walls, the bridge sections, as well as thecontact webs.

Elastically-plastically deformable materials are materials wherein afterthe bending process elastic restoring forces become active, which istypically the case of plastic materials as to which one part of thebending occurs through a plastic, irreversible deformation.

Plastically deformable materials comprise such materials wherein afterdeformation practically no elastic restoring forces are active, such asis typical for metals bent beyond their apparent yielding point.

The term “materially connected” means that the profile corpus and theplastically deformable layer are permanently connected to each other,for instance through coextrusion of the profile body with theplastically deformable layer, or by separately laminating theplastically deformable layer on it, optionally by means of a bondingagent, or by similar techniques.

Materials with poor heat conductivity or heat-insulating materials arematerials which with respect to metals have a clearly reduced heatconduction value, i.e. heat conduction reduced at least by a factor of10. The heat conduction values λare typically of the order of magnitudeof 5 W/(m·K) and below, preferably smaller than 1 W/(m·K) and even morepreferred smaller than 0.3 W/(m·K).

Surprisingly it has been found that already by reinforcing only thecontact webs of the spacer profile made of elastically-plasticallydeformable material with a plastically deformable reinforcement layer, agood cold bendability of the profile can be achieved. The so-formedsandwich composite produces a high bending resistance moment with thecharacteristics of the plastic materials and the profile contour. Thishowever results in higher bending forces, but insures only minimalresilience in the bent state, as well as high corner rigidity and yieldsstiff, and easy to handle spacer frames. The elastic restoring force ofthe profile body material can therefore act only minimally.

The layer thickness of the reinforcement layer depends on the propertiesof the actually used materials of the profile corpus and of thereinforcement layer which have to be selected so that, after a bendingprocess, the desired bend is substantially maintained, which means thatafter a bending by 90° the resilience amounts in any case only to a fewdegrees, i.e. a maximum of 10°. The reinforcement layer does not have tobe a compact layer, but can have for instance netlike perforations.

Preferably the profile body has at least one U-shaped cross section areaopen towards the outside, whose flanks are formed by a contact web andthe neighboring side wall of the chamber and whose base is formed by thebridge sections connecting the same. “Outside” means in this case theside of the profile body facing away for the space between the panes inassembled state.

Further the flanks of the U-shaped cross section area advantageouslyhave a height which is twice, preferably at least three times andfurther preferably at least 5 times, the width of the base.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention thereinforcement layer is set on the contact surface of the contact web.The contact surface is the surface of the contact web facing the paneinside in the mounted state.

In a further embodiment the reinforcement layer is set on thechamber-side surface of the contact web opposite to the contact surface.

In each embodiment the reinforcement layer extends normally at leastover the greater part of the height of the contact web, as well as overits entire length.

Preferably the profile body is permanently connected with areinforcement layer extending substantially over its entire width andlength.

The invention is based on the finding that, in this case, thereinforcement layer contributes to heat conduction from one pane to theother. However, as a result of the contour of the material with low heatconductivity of the profile corpus indicated by the invention, the pathof high heat conductivity created by the reinforcement layer isconsiderably lengthened by comparison with the conventional profiles, sothat the heat insulating properties of an insulating window unitequipped with the spacer profile is considerably improved in the area ofthe peripheral connection due to the invention.

Preferably, especially when the profile corpus material does not offersufficient diffusion tightness, the reinforcement layer is made to bediffusion tight, at least in the area of the chamber walls and thebridge section, but normally over its entire surface.

Advantageously the reinforcement layer is arranged on the outside of theprofile body, or close to the same at least partially embedded in theprofile body. Due to the geometric configuration of the reinforcementlayer determined by the profile body, an arc-preserving bendingresistance moment results, which contributes to the cold pliabilitywithout disturbing deformations.

The bending resistance moment can be increased particularly by arrangingthe reinforcement layer on the chamber-side surface of the contact webon the outside of the bridge section connected with the contact web, aswell as on the outside of the chamber side wall adjacent to the contactweb, whereby the reinforcement layer has to be diffusion tight at leastin the area of the bridge section and the chamber side wall, whenadditional steps for diffusion tightness are to be eliminated.

It is particularly preferred when the reinforcement layer extendscontinuously from the contact surface of the contact web over itschamber-side surface, the outside of the bridge section connected withthe contact web, the outside of the adjacent side wall of the chamber,as well as the outside of the outer chamber wall, whereby in this casethe reinforcement layer has to be diffusion tight at least in the areaof the bridge section and side wall of the chamber. Due to themeandering path of the reinforcement layer in this particularlypreferred embodiment, a high arc-preserving bending resistance moment iscreated. This however has stronger bending forces as a consequence, butin the bent state insures a particularly low resilience and a highdegree of corner stiffness. Therefore practically the elastic restoringforce of the elastically-plastically deformable materials can not becomeactive.

The spacer profile is easy to manufacture, for instance through anextrusion process. After the application of the reinforcement layer, theframe can be made by cold bending. For this purpose conventional bendingequipment without significant modifications can be used. A fixing of thecontact webs during bending, as in the prior art, is not necessarywithin the framework of the invention. After the bending process, thecontact webs do not show any disturbing deformations.

Advantageously the chamber is arranged centrally in the spacer profile,whereby on both sides of the chamber at least one contact web isprovided. This symmetric design makes a positive contribution to thecompensation of relative motions of the panes.

The cross section of the chamber can be substantially polygonal,particularly rectangular or trapezoidal. It is also possible to havecorner-free, for instance oval configurations of the chamber crosssection. It is self-understood that the concept “chamber” includes,besides closed hollow spaces, also trough-like profile shapes.

According to an advantageous embodiment, in the spacer profile, thebridge section is secured in one corner area of the chamber for theconnection of at least one contact web. It is particularly advantageousfor the bending behavior and the heat insulation when the bridge sectionis fastened on a corner close to the space between the panes. However itis also conceivable to arrange the bridge section for the connection ofat least one contact web in the middle area of a chamber side wall,which in the mounted state faces the panes of the window unit.

Depending on the individual configuration, it can be equallyadvantageous to make the height of the contact web greater than, smallerthan or substantially equal to the height of the adjoining side of thechamber. In order to insure a large contact surface on the pane, it canbe advantageous to allow the contact webs to project as much as possiblebeyond the chamber. It also can be advantageous to arrange the contactwebs parallel to the side wall of the chamber. Shorter contact websimprove the contact between the mechanically stabilizing sealing meansto be applied externally and the panes.

It is however also possible to arrange the contact webs at a positive ornegative angle to one side wall of the chamber, which can range forinstance between −45° to +45°, in relation to the longitudinal medianaxis of the chamber cross section. This can improve the spring action ofthe spacer profile, as necessary.

Also the contact webs can have at least one contact rib. Such a contactrib will normally run orthogonally with respect to the contact web, sothat in the mounted state a clear space is defined between the contactweb and the inside of the pane.

As materials for the reinforcement layer, which preferably has a heatconduction value λ<50 W/(m·K), metals with poor heat conductivity suchas mainly tin plate or stainless steel, have proven to be suitable.These materials can be for instance in the form of foils permanentlyapplied to the profile corpus of the spacer profile by means of abonding agent or laminated onto the same. The tin plate is a sheet ironwith a tin surface coating. Suitable stainless steel types are forinstance 4301 or 4310 according to the German steel standards.

It has proven to be advantageous when, with regard to the strength ofthe bond between the reinforcement layer and the profile body, a peelingvalue (force/adhesion width) of ≧4 N/mm at a 180° peeling test exists inthe finished product.

The gas and vapor barrier required for the diffusion tightness of thereinforcement layer, in combination with the mechanical behavior soughtaccording to the invention can be achieved when the reinforcement layerusing tin plate has a thickness of less than 0.2 mm, preferably 0.13 mmthe most. If stainless steel is used, it is possible to have even lesserlayer thicknesses, namely less than 0.1 mm, preferably 0.05 mm at themost. The minimal layer thickness should be selected so that therequired stiffness of the spacer profile is reached and the diffusiontightness is maintained also after bending, particularly in the bentareas. For the indicated materials a minimal layer thickness of 0.02 mmis required.

Depending on the manner in which the spacer profile is finallyintegrated in the insulating window unit, it can be advantageous toprovide the reinforcement layer on its exposed side sensitive tomechanical and chemical influences at least partially with a protectivelayer. This can for instance consist of a lacquer or plastic material.It is however also possible to provide the reinforcement layer with athin layer of the heat-insulating material, respectively the materialwith poor heat conductivity of the spacer profile and to embed the layerin this material at least in certain areas.

Preferably the path of high heat conductivity formed by thereinforcement layer from one pane to the other is a minimum 1.2 times,preferably more than 1.5 times, preferably more than 2 times, and mostpreferably up to 4 times the width of the space between the panes.

With regard to the resilience with simultaneous material savings, thespacer profile can be optimized when the clear width between a contactweb and the adjacent side wall of the chamber amounts to more than 0.5mm. Such a minimal distance improves also the bending behavior of thespacer profile and facilitates the insertion of mechanically stabilizingsealing means.

Generally the chamber, bridge section and contact webs are madesubstantially with the same wall thickness. When it is intended to keepthe chamber volume for receiving hygroscopic material as large aspossible, then it is possible to reduce the wall thickness of all oronly some walls of the chamber.

Suitable heat-insulating materials for the spacer profile have beenproven to be thermoplastic synthetic materials with a heat conductionvalue λ<0.3 W/(m·K), e.g. polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate,polyamide or polycarbonate. The plastic material can contain the usualfillers, additives, dyes, agents for UV-protection, etc.

From a spacer profile according to the invention it is simple to producespacer frames made in one piece for insulating window units, which haveto be closed only by one connector. Namely it is possible by usingcommercially available bending tools to bend the spacer profile intocorners, which even in this corner areas are characterized by planarsurfaces of the contact webs on the side facing the pane inside in themounted state. The chamber deformation occurring during bending areabsorbed by the space between the chamber side walls and the neighboringcontact web. The good pliability of the contact webs, as well as of thespacer profile according to the invention, can be probably explained bythe fact that the permanent material bond between theelastically-plastically deformable, heat-insulating material,particularly of synthetic material, and the plastically deformablereinforcement layer, particularly of metal, insures a good balance offorces even during cold bending. However it could still be advantageousto slightly warm the bending point, so that relaxation processes areaccelerated. The connector is designed either as a corner connector or,connects as a straight connector the cold-bent spacer profile in aconnection area outside the corners, for instance in the middle of apane edge.

Furthermore the invention comprises an insulating window unit with atleast two opposite panes and a spacer frame consisting of a spacerprofile as described above, whereby the spacer frame with the panesdefine an intermediate pane space, wherein the contact webs are bondedsubstantially over their entire length and height with the inner paneside facing them and wherein the clear space between contact webs andchamber, as well as at least the connection area to the neighboringinner pane side are filled with a mechanically stabilizing sealingmaterial.

According to an advantageous embodiment, in the insulating window unitthe mechanically stabilizing sealing material basically fills upentirely the free space to the outer peripheral margin of the windowunit. Commercially available insulating glass adhesives based onpolysulfide, polyurethane or silicon have proven themselves to besuitable sealing materials. As a diffusion-tight adhesive material forbonding the contact webs with inner pane side for instance a butylsealing material on a polyisobutylene basis is suitable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention is further explained with reference to the drawing. In thedrawing:

FIG. 1 is a first embodiment of a spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 3 is a third embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 4 is a fourth embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 5 is a fifth embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 6 is a sixth embodiment of the spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 7 is a detail view of a spacer profile in contact with a pane of aninsulating window unit;

FIG. 8 is a further detail view of a spacer profile in contact with apane of an insulating window unit;

FIG. 9 is seventh embodiment of a spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 10 is an eighth embodiment of a spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 11 is a ninth embodiment of a spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 12 is a tenth embodiment of a spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 13 is an eleventh embodiment of a spacer profile in cross section;

FIG. 14 is a spacer profile in the mounted state in an insulating windowunit;

FIG. 15 is a mounting variant for a spacer profile in an insulatingwindow unit;

FIG. 16 is a spacer profile according to the state of the art in crosssection; and

FIG. 17 is a peripheral bond of an insulating window unit with thespacer profile of FIG. 16.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 to 6 and 9 to 13 show cross sectional views of spacer profiles.Normally this cross section does not change over the entire length of aspacer profile, except for the tolerances defined by the manufacturingtechniques.

In FIG. 1 a first embodiment of a spacer profile according to thepresent invention is shown in a cross-sectional view. A chamber 10 witha substantially rectangular cross section is filled with a hygroscopicmaterial not shown in the drawing, for instance a silica gel ormolecular sieve, which through slits or perforations 50 which are formedin a wall 12 of the chamber 10, can absorb moisture from the spacebetween the panes. To the corner areas of the wall 12 bridge segments 32and 34 are connected which continue with the contact webs 30 and 36.These contact webs 30, respectively 36, have a height which is smallerthan the height of the neighboring side walls 14, 16 of the chamber, andextend parallel to them. In this embodiment of the spacer profile, allwalls, bridge sections and contact webs have approximately the samethickness. The contact webs 30, 36 are a permanently bonded sandwichcompound made of the elastically-plastically deformable profile corpusmaterial and of a therein embedded plastically deformable reinforcementlayer 40. The bending behavior in the area of the contact webs 30, 36 isalready considerably improved due to the arrangement of thereinforcement layer 40, particularly a deformation of the contact webs30, 36 is avoided during bending. In this variant the material of theprofile corpus has to be diffusion-tight. Alternately a diffusion-tightlayer is provided, which extends substantially over the entire width andlength of the profile.

The variant represented in FIG. 2 has a profile body corresponding toFIG. 1. The plastically deformable reinforcement layer 40 isdiffusion-tight and provided on the outer side of the profile spacerwhich in the mounted state faces towards the margin of the insulatingwindow unit. They extend substantially from the contact surface of thefirst contact web 30 around the same over its chamber-side surfacetowards the bridge section 32, then around the chamber 10 up to thebridge section 34 and around the contact web 36. The usual mountingmanner for such a spacer profile would be so that the wall 12 would facethe space between the panes, so that the same would be kept free ofmoisture by the hygroscopic material inside chamber 10. Due to the factthat the reinforcement layer 40 covers the contact surface of thecontact webs 30, 36 a better adhesion capability with the adhesive usedlater for bonding the spacer profile with the insulating window unit isachieved. Besides the bending behavior in the area of the contact websis improved due to the basically all-around permanently bonded sandwichcompound. The effective heat-conductive path from the closest point tothe pane on the side of the first pane to the closest point on the sideof the second pane with the mounted spacer profile, i.e. the segments ofthe reinforcement layer 40 on the contact surfaces of the contact webs30, 36 do not contribute significantly to the heat-conductive path.

Another variant for the formation of the reinforcement layer 40 is shownin FIG. 3. In this variant the reinforcement layer 40 ends before eachof the contact surfaces of the contact webs 30, 36. Further the wall 12of the chamber 10 from FIG. 1 is practically completely replaced by aporous layer 52, through which the moisture from the space between thepanes can enter the chamber 10 and be absorbed by the hygroscopicmaterial.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the contact webs 30 and 36 are prolonged,so that they project beyond the outside of chamber 10, which has atrapezoidal cross section. This results in a further prolonged effectiveheat-conductive path through the reinforcement layer 40. The trapezoidalconfiguration of the cross section of chamber 10 increases the clearspace between chamber 10 and the contact webs 30, respectively 36,wherein later during the assembly of the insulating window unitadditional sealing material can be introduced. On the surface 12 of thechamber 10 facing the space between the panes in the mounted state, adecorative layer 54 is applied, which extends over the bridge sections32 and 34. Instead of the decorative layer 54, also a layer reflectingheat radiation can be provided. Perforations for access to the inside ofchamber 10 are not shown in the drawing.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 5 the height of the contact webs 30,36 is selected so that it is basically equal to the height of therespectively neighboring side wall 14, 16 of the chamber 10. Byselecting the dimensions of the clear width y between the contact webs30, 36 and the respectively neighboring side wall 14, 16 of chamber 10,it is possible to determine the spring behavior of the spacer profile,i.e. the elastic behavior with respect to the bending deformation orposition changes of the panes of the insulating window unit in themounted state. Thereby the contact webs 30, 36 can for instance bedeformed until they lie against the neighboring chamber wall 14, 16. Thereinforcement layer 40 runs around the exposed sides of the contact webs30, respectively, i.e., covers their contact surfaces and theirchamber-side surfaces, but then, after the transition point at thebridge sections 32, respectively 34, it is embedded in the material ofthe walls 14, 18, 16 of chamber 10. Here an optimal protection of thereinforcement layer is achieved at least in the area of chamber 10.

The elasticity of the contact webs 30, 36 can also be set when the same,such as in the embodiment example of FIG. 6, do not run parallel to theneighboring chamber walls 14, 16, but under a certain angle α differentfrom zero with respect to the neighboring wall 14, 16 of chamber 10.Thereby the contact webs 30, 36 can also be angled, in order to insure agood contact to the pane inside. This design offers here also thepossibility to extend the reinforcement layer 40. The angle α equalshere approximately −30° respectively +30° with respect to thelongitudinal median axis L of the cross section of chamber 10.

With correspondingly prolonged bridge section, the contact webs can alsobe arranged at an angle towards the chamber, as shown in the detail viewin FIG. 7. Thereby in the mounted state exists a line contact from thecontact web 30 to the inner side of a pane 102. Besides the contact web30 forms an angle β which differs from zero with the pane 102. In thisembodiment under circumstances the effective path for heat conduction ofthe diffusion-tight layer 40 is shortened, when the same can not bedrawn over the entire contact surface of the contact web 30 facing thepane 102.

This drawback is avoided by the embodiment according to FIG. 8, in thatat the end of the contact web 30 closest to the bridge section a contactrib 38 is provided. The contact rib 38 lies against the inside of pane102, the reinforcement layer 40 ends under the contact rib 38. With thecontact rib 38 it is possible to set a defined distance between thecontact web 30 and the pane 102, thereby setting a defined (minimal)thickness of the intermediate adhesive layer (not shown) between thecontact web 30 and the pane 12, this way preventing the adhesive frombeing pushed out towards thereby between the panes.

In FIG. 9 a seventh embodiment of the spacer profile is represented,wherein the bridge sections 32, 34 are basically arranged on atransverse median axis of the chamber cross section and thecorresponding contact webs 30, 36 extend beyond the side walls 14. 16 ofchamber 10.

A “double-T variant” of the embodiment example of FIG. 9 is representedin FIG. 10. Here the bridge sections 32,34 are again arranged centrallyon a side wall 14, 16 of chamber 10, the contact webs 30, respectively36 extending symmetrically thereto.

The embodiment example of FIG. 11 corresponds to the one of FIG. 2,whereby the chamber wall 12 of FIG. 2 is completely omitted, thereforethe chamber 10 being designed as a trough. The hygroscopic material isembedded in a polymer matrix 60, which is held in the chamber 10 by anadhesion. In the modified embodiment of FIG. 11 represented in FIG. 12,the reinforcement layer 40 runs from the contact surfaces of the contactwebs 30, 36, over the bridge sections 32, 34 inside the chamber 10,thereby surrounding the hygroscopic material in the polymer matrix 60,which in the mounted state is still open towards the space between thepanes.

In the embodiment of FIG. 13, the walls 14, 16 and 18 of chamber 10 aremade with a slimmer wall thickness than the bridge sections 32, 34,respectively the contact webs 30, 36 and the wall 12. This way morehygroscopic material can be lodged in the chamber 10. When selecting thewall thickness it has to be considered that external forces acting onthe panes of the insulating window unit have to be absorbed by thespacer profile, so that the same must have a sufficient bucklingresistance (rigidity) against this load over the intermediate panespace.

The spacer profile of the invention can be bent to form a frame andassembled with fittingly cut panes into an insulating window unit. FIGS.14 and 15 show assembly variants.

In the variant according to FIG. 14 the spacer profile 100 is in contactwith one side of the chamber essentially with the outer edges of panes102, 104. In order to protect the sensitive reinforcement layer 40, thelatter is provided on the outside with a protection layer 110 whichextends at least so far as to protect the area not covered by adhesives106, respectively sealing material 108. The spacer profile 100 isaffixed at first on the inside of the pane 102, 104 by means of a butyladhesive 106. The remaining space is afterwards filled with mechanicallystabilizing sealing material 108.

The variant according to FIG. 15 offers the possibility of highermechanical stability and also of improved protection of thereinforcement layer 40 against external influences, in that the spacerprofile 100 is offset further towards the pane inside. The mechanicallystabilizing sealing material is thereby extended on the pane outer edgeat least up to the neighboring pane inside (simply hatched areas of 108of FIG. 15). It is further preferred to fill completely the clear spacebetween the pane insides and the outside of the spacer profile withmechanically stabilizing sealing material (double-hatched area 108 inFIG. 15).

EXAMPLE 1

As a plastically-elastically deformable, heat-insulating material forthe profile corpus according to the embodiment of FIG. 2, polypropyleneNovolen 1040K with a wall thickness of 1 mm was used, whereby as areinforcement layer a tin-plate foil (technical name: andralyt E2, 8/2,8T57) with a thickness of 0.125 mm was used. The foil was laminated ontothe profile corpus.

The chemical composition of this tin plate is: carbon 0.070%, manganese0.400%, silicon 0.018%, aluminum 0.045%, phosphorus 0.020%, nitrogen0.007%, the balance being iron. On the sheet iron a tin layer with aweight/surface ratio of 2.8 g/m² was applied, which corresponds to athickness of 0.38 μm.

The finished spacer profile had a width of 15.5 mm including the contactwebs and a height of 6.5 mm. The clear width between chamber and contactweb, respectively including the tin-plate foil amounted to 4.6 mm. Onthe one side facing the plastic material the tin-plate foil was providedwith a 50 μm-layer of bonding agent on a basis of polypropylene. Thechamber was filled with a conventional drying agent (molecular sievephonosorb 555 produced by the firm Grace). Towards the space between thepanes a two rows of perforations were provided in the chamber wall.

The spacer profile was cut into 6 m long profile rods and then furtherprocessed on conventional bending devices. With the aid of an automaticbending machine produced by F.X. BAYER of the type VE spacer frames cutto customized specification were produced, whereby four corners werebent and the connection of the end pieces was performed with a straightconnector.

The spacer frame was connected in the usual manner with twocorrespondingly large float-glass panes to form an insulating windowunit. One of the panes was provided with a heat-protective layer with anemittance of 0.1. The insulating window units were filled in agas-filling press with argon with a content of more than 90% by volume.

The peripheral sealing was performed according to FIG. 15, whereby alsothe outside of the spacer (particularly the outer wall 18 of the chamber10, FIG. 2) was covered. As adhesive 106 a butyl sealing material on apolyisobutylene basis was used (width between glass 102 and neighboringcontact web: 0.25 mm, height: 4 mm). The remaining clear spaces werefilled with a polysulfide adhesive 108, whereby the outer wall coverageof the spacer was 3 mm.

EXAMPLE 2

A spacer profile was produced corresponding to Example 1, wherebyhowever as reinforcement layer a stainless steel foil (type Krupp VerdolAluchrom I SE) with a thickens of 0.05 mm was used.

The chemical composition of this stainless steel is: chromium 19-21%,carbon maximum 0.03%, manganese maximum 0.50%, silicon maximum 0.60%,aluminum 4.7-5.5%, the balance being iron.

The characteristic values of the materials used in Examples 1 and 2 arecomprised in the following Table 1:

TABLE 1 tinplate 0.125 μm w/ a 50 μm bonding agent stainless steelpolypro coating 0.05 μm Krupp pylene andralyt E2, Werdol AluchromNovolen 8/2, 8T57 I SE 1040K E-Module 200 kN/mm² 210 kN/mm² 1.9 kN/mm²tenacity 350 N/mm² 650 N/mm² 38 N/mm² elasticity 280 N/mm² 580 N/mm² 38N/mm² limit breaking 15% 12% 500% elongation thermal 35 W/m K 13.6 W/m K0.15 W/m K conduction coefficient transverse to rolling directionextensibility 0.2% 0.2% 7%

EXAMPLE 3

An insulating glass pane unit was produced with a conventional metallicspacer according to FIG. 16 and a peripheral seal according to FIG. 17.

The box-like hollow profile consisted of aluminum with a wall thicknessof 0.38 mm (manufacturer: e.g. the firm Erbslöh). The profile has awidth of 15.5 mm and a height of 6.5 mm. The spacer profile was bondedwith the panes with an isobutylene sealing material at the height of thecontact surfaces with the panes 102, 104, whereby the adhesive were usedaccording to Example 1. The remaining gap was filled with a polysulfideadhesive 108, the covering of the outer wall thereby amounting to 3 mm.

The heat transport in the area of the peripheral bond was determined forhe insulating window units described in Examples 1 to 3 with theassistance of heat flow simulation calculations. With the commerciallyavailable software program “WINISO 1.3” of the firm Sommer InformatikGmbH two-dimensional heat fields were calculated. From therepresentation of the isotherms calculated this way the below-indicatedglass surface temperature in the area of the peripheral bond wereestablished. They are a measure for the quality of the heat insulation.Higher temperatures in the peripheral area improve the k-value andtherewith the heat barrier of the window and reduce the formation ofcondensate.

Besides values for which manufacturer specification are available, forthis calculations also heat-conduction indications according to DIN 4108Part 4, respectively according to prEN 30 077 were also included. Thedata is presented in the following Table 2.

TABLE 2 Heat conductivity Name of Material (W/m K) glass 1.0  aluminum220    stainless steel 15    tin plate 35*   polypropylene 0.22polysulfide 0.19 butyl 0.24 molecular sieve 0.13 argon  0.016*Manufacturer indication

The calculations were performed with the measurement and geometriesaccording to the individual examples, whereby as it was assumed that theexternal temperature was 0° C. and the internal temperature was 20° C.

The surface temperatures in the area of the peripheral bond on the warmside, respectively 0 mm, 6 mm and 12 mm starting from the glass edge areindicated in Table 3.

TABLE 3 polypropylene + stainless stainless steel + Spacer steel tinplate aluminum Surface temp. (° C.) on warm side 0 mm from glass edge12.3 10.9 8.2 6 mm from glass edge 12.7 11.1 8.3 12 mm from glass edge 13.5 12.5 9.8

The results make clear the improved heat insulation of the spacerprofile according to the present invention over the conventionalaluminum spacer profiles. The variant polypropylene with stainless steelfoil is thereby particularly suited in cases where a high degree of heatinsulating capability is required, while the variant polypropylene withtin plate offers pliability advantages.

Insulating window units according to Example 1 were subjected to testsaccording to insulation glass standards prEN 1279 Part 2 and Part 3. Therequirements regarding long-term behavior, vapor and gas tightness werefully met.

What is claimed is:
 1. A spacer profile for a spacer frame to be mountedin the space between panes forming an insulating window unit, saidspacer profile comprising a profile body formed with a chamber forreceiving hygroscopic material and with at least one contact web forlying against the inside of one of said panes on at least one side ofthe chamber, said contact web being connected with the chamber via abridge section, whereby the profile body has at least one outwardly openarea with a U-shaped cross section, whose flanks are formed by thecontact web and an adjacent side wall of the chamber and a base isformed by the bridge section connecting the same, the profile body ofthe spacer profile consists of an elastically-plastically deformablematerial with a heat conduction value of λ<0.3 W/(mK), the flanks of thearea with said U-shaped cross section having a height which is at leasttwice the width of the base, and that at least the contact web beingpermanently materially connected with a deformable reinforcement layermade of a metal with a heat conduction value of λ<50 W/(Mk).
 2. Thespacer profile according to claim 1 wherein the flanks of the U-shapedcross-sectional area have a height which is at least three times thewidth of the base.
 3. The spacer profile according to claim 2 whereinthe flanks have a height which is at least 5 times the width of thebase.
 4. The spacer profile according to claim 1 wherein thereinforcement layer is arranged on a contact surface of the contact web.5. The spacer profile according to claim 1 wherein the reinforcementlayer is arranged on a chamber-side surface of the contact web.
 6. Thespacer profile according to claim 1 wherein the profile body ispermanently materially connected with a reinforcement layer extendingsubstantially over its entire width and length.
 7. The spacer profileaccording to claim 1 wherein the reinforcement layer is diffusion-tightat least in an area of the walls of the chamber and of the bridgesections.
 8. The spacer profile according to claim 1 wherein thereinforcement layer is arranged on the outside of the profile body or atleast partially embedded close to the surface of the same.
 9. The spacerprofile according to claim 1 wherein the reinforcement layer is arrangedon a chamber-side surface of the contact web, on an outside of thebridge section connected with the contact web, as well as on an outsideof a side wall of the chamber adjacent to the contact web, and thereinforcement layer is diffusion-tight at least in an area of the bridgesection and the side wall of the chamber.
 10. The spacer profileaccording to claim 1 wherein the reinforcement layer extendscontinuously from a contact surface of the contact web over achamber-side surface thereof, an outer side of the bridge sectionconnected with the contact web, an outer side of a neighboring side wallof the chamber, as well an outer side of an outer wall of the chamber,and the reinforcement layer is diffusion-tight at least in an area ofthe bridge section and the side wall of the chamber.
 11. The spacerprofile according to claim 1 wherein the chamber is centrally arrangedand on each side of the chamber at least one contact web is provided.12. The spacer profile according to claim 1 wherein the chamber has arectangular or trapezoidal cross section.
 13. The spacer profileaccording to claim 1 wherein the bridge section for the connection of atleast one contact web is fixed in a corner area of the chamber arrangedclose to a space between the panes.
 14. The spacer profile according toclaim 1 wherein the height of the contact web is smaller than orsubstantially equal to the height of an adjacent side wall of thechamber.
 15. The spacer profile according to claim 1 wherein the contactweb projects beyond a wall facing towards a space between the panes ofthe insulating window unit, or towards an outer wall of the chamberopposite thereto.
 16. The spacer profile according to claim 1 whereinthe contact web is parallel to one side wall of the chamber.
 17. Thespacer profile according to claim 1 wherein the reinforcement layerconsists of tin plate or stainless steel.
 18. The spacer profileaccording to claim 17 wherein the reinforcement layer has a thickness ofat least 0.02 mm.
 19. The spacer profile according to claim 17 whereinthe reinforcement layer of tin plate has a thickness of at least 0.2 mm.20. The spacer profile defined in claim 19 wherein said thickness is atmost 0.13 mm.
 21. The spacer profile according to claim 17 wherein thereinforcement layer of stainless steel has a thickness of less than 0.1mm.
 22. The spacer profile defined in claim 21 wherein said thickness isat most 0.05 mm.
 23. The spacer profile according to claim 1 wherein thereinforcement layer is provided at least partially on its outside with aprotective layer.
 24. The spacer profile according to claim 1, wherein apath of higher heat conductivity from one pane to the other, formed bythe reinforcement layer, equals at least 1.5 times.
 25. The spacerprofile according to claim 1 wherein a clear width between the contactweb and the neighboring wall of the chamber equals at least 0.5 mm. 26.The spacer profile according to claim 1 where the chamber, the bridgesection and the contact web have substantially the same wall thickness.27. The spacer profile according to claim 1 wherein at least one of thewalls (12, 14, 16, 18) of the chamber have a reduced wall thickness withrespect to the bridge section and the contact web.
 28. The spacerprofile according to claim 1 wherein the profile body is made ofpolypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamides polycarbonate. 29.An insulating window unit with at least two panes facing each other at adistance and with a spacer frame made of a spacer profile according toclaims 1, which together with the panes defines an intermediate panespace, the body having contact webs glued to an inner pane side facingthem over substantially their entire length and height by means of adiffusion-tight adhesive and a clear space between the contact webs andthe chamber, as well as at least the connection area to the neighboringinner side of the pane being filled with a mechanically stabilizingsealing material.
 30. The insulating window unit according to claim 29,wherein the mechanically stabilizing sealing material (108) fills theclear space to the peripheral margins of the insulating window unitcompletely.
 31. The insulating window unit according to claim 29 whereinthe mechanically stabilizing sealing material is a sealing agent on apolysulfide, polyurethane or silicon basis.
 32. The insulating windowunit according claims 31, wherein the contact webs are glued togetherwith the inner side of the panes by means of a butyl sealing material ona basis of polyisobutylene.